Monday, October 6, 2014

One is Silver and the others Gold / T is For Tuesday

I enjoyed both old and new friends this past week.
Guests mean going out to eat!
I took my dearest friend Diane and her husband John to 
From their website:
All Souls Pizza is committed to using fresh seasonal ingredients. We mill our own flours and polenta from organic grains, many of which are traditional varieties. We source our meat and produce as closely to home as possible. Our bread comes from Farm & Sparrow Bakery.
Aside from serving meat, their food philosophy is very close to mine.
I always feel healthy after I eat here, even if I stuff myself as everything I have ever had is so good!
The servers are knowledgeable , have great memories, and I love sitting outside by the field.
This pizza is kale, crimini mushrooms, onion and olives on their amazing wood fired crust.
youc an also get a polenta crust that is surprisingly wonderful!
My DD was also with us, and we wanted the watercress, watermelon radish, green been salad, and it had cheese in it, so our server suggested butter lettuce salad and he would add some watercress.
This is the only restaurant I don't ask for my dressing on the side.
In addition to perfect butter lettuce leaves it had roasted beets and a herb vinaigrette dressing.
Keep your salad plate to wipe up with your pizza crust.
It's that good.
Note on the photos- it was dark, and we used an additional phone as lighting.
Starters and salads were shared (the salad photo has gone the way of all things!).
The roasted beets were delicious, sweet, perfectly cooked and served with a horseradish sauce (we ate around that).
The bread, ah, the bread! This is the best bread I have ever eaten. 
If you must eat bread, eat Farm and Sparrow.
It is wood fired, self leavened, fresh ground with mostly locally grown grains.
Delicious, honest bread.
David is a master baker and we get the benefit of his labor.
Thank you David!
The ferment plate for the bread was outstanding. 
Tasty fermented carrots, cabbage and peppers in a sea of olive oil.
Again, great to wipe up, if you have any left with your pizza.


Saturday I went to a class at a new gallery/art space
TEXture Art Bar.
The entryway.

The sink(note glassware- T is for Tuesday)

to take a class in pointed pen with
Kathy Milici.
Kathy creating for Diane and John

I enjoyed the class, learned a new hand and made some new friends.

We went out to dinner at 
Nine Mile
also new to me, and a fav of my DD, so she joined us again!
From the website:
Nine Mile is a casual full-service vegetarian-friendly restaurant and bar with two locations in Asheville, NC. The original location is in the heart of Historic Montford. The newest location is in Downtown West Asheville on Haywood Rd.
Our cuisine consists of Caribbean inspired pasta dishes, rice dishes, a handful of traditional pasta dishes, daily specials, and an array of locally made desserts.

The carrot, coconut soup was a delicious special for starters.
Love the presentation. It makes you hungry!
Note the water- our drink of choice for the evening.

I'm sure the bread is ok, and I'm just a Farm and Sparrow(All Souls) Girl.
I don't eat anything( when I can help it) that isn't worth the calories , in the mouth.
We were so hungry I forgot to get a photo of our mains, till after we dug in.
DD and I shared the raw zucchini pasta, with a pesto sauce, and a good (I'm guessing out of the bag) mixed green salad, with tempeh, apples and a balsamic vinaigrette.
I love tempeh, and even tho I live in Asheville, I do not love Smiling Hara, our local maker.
No matter how it is prepared, it  has a tastes that is a bit off to me, and the mouth feel is soft, and sometimes slimy.
I wish I liked, it as almost everyone serves it, and it ruins the dish for me.
I'll keep trying.
The zucchini "pasta" is a welcome change to another flour product, and I found it refreshing with the pesto sauce, that was well, basally! in a good way.
Over all I enjoyed the meal.
Our server seemed a bit confused a times, and it was hard to catch his eye when needed.

I was happy to see both restaurants very full on both evenings.
Nine Mile was packed, and quite noisy.
I don't think they have any outside seating.

It's really hard to get a bad meal in Asheville!
Come visit, my gold and silver friends!
and come hungry.

Comments and Questions always welcomed.




11 comments:

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Heavens, I'm not just hungry, I'm famished after reading this post. The pizza looked amazing, and the bread looked oh so yummy. I was impressed with the carrot coconut soup, because I adore Caribbean food. But the salad looked rather disappointing, and you acted like this was not the best restaurant you had been to. The idea there are so many vegetarian friendly restaurants in your town makes me want to move there.

I enjoyed the art studio and loved the bicycle sink. I've seen lots of innovative sinks, but that one was quite clever.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful food and day at an art studio with us for T this week. Now I must find something to eat, because these photos made me so hungry.

Vicki Miller said...

In my town here down under all we have is a pub and general store, which is why when we went into town today, I ate way too much, but your pizza looked so yummy, I think I will have to make one tomorrow.

dawn said...

Hello and Happy T Day! How nice to have meals out with friends and family. You got some good pictures too. Sometimes I forget till we are done eating to take the picture, lol. They both seem like yummy places to eat.
How fun to take a class, I've only taken online ones so what a treat that would be.
Thanks for sharing your yummy post with us, have a great day!

Darla said...

Quite a line up of delicious meals. The pizza caught my eye and I'm not usually a big fan of pizza. I like it but it is rarely my first choice on a menu. The studio where you took a class looks interesting. I am sure I'd be happy to spend some time there just looking around.

Darla

Divers and Sundry said...

Thanks for sharing! Both places look like I'd be making them regular stops on my eating out ventures. That pizza especially tempts me. Yummy!

Dianne said...

You had me with the opening pic of the pizza! YUM! Always enjoy your beautiful photos and restaurant reviews! Great looking art gallery...pen work is my favorite!

~*~Patty S said...

Yum Yum Yum
I am officially hungry thanks to your delicious sharing.
Tempeh is a fav of ours too.
Your class looks interesting...glad you enjoyed it
Happy to be back for tea...
Happy October Robyn!
oxo

Krisha said...

Okay, I read your post and now I have a snack sitting here ready to be devoured! ALL the food sounded delicious, as you don't have to be vegan to enjoy such tempting dishes. I would eat there in a heat beat!
Happy T-day

Nancy said...

I love any kind of coconut soup and yours looked so cute with the wee hearts :)
And the bread looks amazing! I've worked up an appetite just looking at all the great photos!
Happy Tuesday :)

Halle said...

Wow...such health foods that look delish as well!
Happy T day!

June said...

Thanks for the write up! If you were wondering, the bread is from City Bakery. Salads are made to order, but you're right, the mixed greens do come pre-mixed. As for the tempeh, I hear what you're saying there. The first time I had it my first reaction was "this is different." But after eating it for so long, I now prefer it over the more common/mainstream brands.

Thanks again for reviewing your meal with us!